Moscow -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Prisoners in ice , more than 100 Beluga whales in far eastern Russia risk death unless rescued soon .

The flock of gentle ghost-white whales was trapped in ice floes in the Sinyavinsky Strait off the Bering Sea near the village of Yanrakynnot , said a statement from the Chukotka Autonomous Region .

Fishermen reported that the whales were concentrated in two relatively small ice holes , where , for now , they can breathe freely . But the Belugas ' chance of swimming back to water is slim due to the vast fields of ice over the strait .

The whales have little food , and the ice floe is increasing , the statement said . They are at risk of rapid exhaustion and , ultimately , death by starvation or suffocation . Trapped whales are also susceptible to predators like polar bears and killer whales .

The Chukotka Autonomous Region government has sought help from federal authorities and asked for an icebreaker to help rescue the Belugas . A rescue tug , Ruby , was in the area helping a Korean cargo ship that ran aground on the southern coast of Chukotka but it would take one and a half days for it to reach the whales , the statement said .

Trapped belugas are a frequent phenomenon in the Arctic waters but are not often detected by people . In Chukotka , the last relatively successful case was recorded in 1986 , when an ice-breaker helped free trapped beluga whales .

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More than 100 Belugas are trapped in ice floes off the Bering Sea

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Unless the whales are rescued soon , they could die from suffocation or starvation

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Local authorities have sought help from Moscow